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1,897 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyMy Lords, the negotiations with Mauritius are not destabilising the entire region, and we were not in a hurry to conclude them. As we have said before, these negotiations…19 Dec 2024HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyNo, we will not be granting one. Bluntly, there is no point in stringing people along on these issues; that just compounds the wrong that has been done to them. The Chagos Islands…19 Dec 2024HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyThe security of and continuation of legal certainty regarding the base on Diego Garcia has been our prime objective in these negotiations. We would not have entered into any kind…19 Dec 2024HANSARDChina: Human Rights and SecurityMy Lords, I convey my gratitude to the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for securing this debate. I pay tribute to his work on China, as vice-chair of the Hong Kong APPG and as a member of…19 Dec 2024HANSARDChina: Human Rights and SecurityIndeed—I think that was an invitation that I did not need to make. Lastly, I underline that this Government’s re-engagement with China aims to enable a consistent, long-term and…19 Dec 2024HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyI could not agree more with the noble Lord’s comments on his desire, which we share, that this should not be a political football. We should all tread carefully and respectfully…19 Dec 2024HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyIt really depends on who you seek the opinion from. There undoubtedly will be Chagossian communities who are deeply unhappy about this—there is no point pretending…19 Dec 2024HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyAs the noble Lord knows, we deal with the current Administration until they are no longer the current Administration. I note that as negotiations concluded, support was provided…19 Dec 2024HANSARDUkraineYes. I thank the noble Lord for raising this with me and writing to me about this. He is quite right to do so. Following his most recent correspondence, I have asked officials,…05 Dec 2024HANSARDUkraineI am very pleased with our strategic defence review, its wide remit and the engagement that it has from not just the MoD but across Whitehall and more widely into academia and…05 Dec 2024HANSARDUkraineI have heard much commentary about the basis on which negotiations may or may not begin. At this stage, this is all speculative and hypothetical. It is probably better that from…05 Dec 2024HANSARDUkraineI am very happy to do that. I want to do that justice as it is such an important issue, so I would like to come back to the House and speak on that properly at more length. What…05 Dec 2024HANSARDUkraineI agree completely with the noble Lord. The only thing I would add to that is to imagine the cost of not acting, not just in human and diplomatic terms but in the price of the…05 Dec 2024HANSARDUkraineThe most reverend Primate is correct. We do not want Ukraine to wait for the SDR, which is why we have already committed substantial sums: £3 billion per year for as long as…05 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipWe are very well aware of the activities in the Indian Ocean. I remind noble Lords that Mauritius is one of the few African states not to be taking part in belt and road. It is a…05 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipThat is right. Self-determination is fundamental when it comes to other overseas territories, most notably the Falkland Islands. We have made that very clear. The issue here is…05 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI would be very happy to. I point out that Minister West visited Diego Garcia recently. It was before she was appointed as a Minister, but she is now the Minister for Asia and the…05 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI would very much like to visit the Chagos Islands some weeks.05 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipWe are not putting a timetable on this for the Mauritian Government. It is not really on us to chivvy them along; they need as long as they need to consider the agreement in the…05 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipI agree with the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, that we need to allow the new incoming Mauritian Government the time and space to do what they need to do. As a newly…05 Dec 2024